Is Rishi Sunak too late to stop the spread of Islamism?

Rishi Sunak has joined the long line of prime ministers who have declared that enough is enough, and the country must act to root out Islamist extremism. His speech from the steps of 10 Downing Street on Friday was hailed in some Conservative quarters as ‘striking intervention’. Nevertheless, the sceptic might wonder why it’s taken the Prime Minister until now to face up to the fact that many Jews do not feel safe in the British capital.

Those same sceptics are entitled to think that despite Sunak’s vow to ‘implement a new robust framework’ to tackle extremism, nothing will change. Britain has been here many times before.

A week after a homegrown Islamist terror cell murdered 52 people in London in July 2005, Tony Blair delivered an eloquent and honest speech about Islamist extremism: ‘It plays on our tolerance and good nature,’ said the prime minister.